What would I do without you?
by Hoopligan
Summary: 'I wish I had asked you sooner. We could've ages, months, years even. And what if they did? Starting from Chamber of Secrets to beyond Deathly Hallows.
1. My Hero, My Savior

(Note: This scene is taken from the movie, so Harry has stabbed Tom Riddle's diary with the fang wound still in his arm.)

Harry gave a moment's thought to think about what he had just been through. Him and Ron and seen the deadly message, written in blood, on the wall. Then they learned that Ron's sister, Ginny, had been taken down to the Chamber. Ginny. How could cute, innocent Ginny Weasley have been taken to the Chamber? They found the location of the Chamber. Then Lockhart had attempted to wipe out their memories, but Ron's wand malfunctioned and their professor was hit himself. Ron stayed behind with Lockhart while Harry went down to the Chamber. He saw Ginny lying, cold, on the ground, and he clinged desperately to her, praying she was alive. Then Tom Riddle appeared, revealed himself to be Lord Voldemort, and called for the Basilisk. The Basilisk wounded Harry's arm and he killed it. He then came up to Tom Riddle's diary, and stabbed it with the Basilisk fang. Riddle was gone.

Ginny was stirring. Harry kneeled up closer to her, his left arm clutching his right, and he knew he had only a few moments to live. However, before dying, he had to instruct Ginny on how to get out of here. Her eyes opened and she moaned in pain.

'Ginny.' he managed to say.

'Harry, i-it was m-me, b-but I-I swear, I didn't mean t-too. Riddle made m-me and…'she breathed out before looking at Harry's wound on his arm. It was not any normal cut. A cut is something you get when you cut your hand chopping tomatoes. This was not a cut. This was a huge puncture in Harry's arm.

'H-Harry, you're hurt…' she gasped as tears started welling up in her eyes. It was _her_ fault that he was hurt, her fault that all the students had been petrified, her fault that her childhood crush was going to die soon.

'Don't worry. Ginny, go up to the Chamber. You'll find Ron. Don't worry about m-me' he coughed out.

She started to cry. 'NO. I won't leave you, Harry. I-' She managed to say, in between sobs, before she was interrupted by a phoenix flying up to Harry. It was bright red just like her hair.

'You were brilliant, Fawkes. I just wasn't quick enough.' he said, now having trouble breathing.

Suddenly, Fawkes, the phoenix started to cry, and Ginny's chocolate brown eyes widened in amazement to see Harry's wound heal, and the skin repair itself.

'Ofcourse. Phoenix tears having healing powers. Thanks!' he said, smiling, full of gratitude.

When he saw her eyes full of tears, he threw his arms around her, rubbing her back in circles, reassuring her, that Riddle was gone, that she was safe now. She continued sobbing, as the past days' events came back to her.

'He's gone Ginny. He won't control you again. I promise' he said, reassuring her. She refused to let go of his arms. And without thinking, hoping it would make Ginny feel any better, he kissed her on her cheek.

Ginny was crying. Harry had just saved her from the Basilisk and killed it and Riddle, apparently, and he had a _huge _puncture wound in his right arm. It was her fault, that her childhood crush, that her idol, that the boy she liked the most in the world, was going to die.

Then the phoenix came, and started crying. Harry's wound healed up and now it didn't look like it was there at all. She was still crying. Even though her childhood dream was coming true, even though Harry had his arms around her, it couldn't match the pain and sorrow she'd been through. Then Harry did the unexpected. Without thinking, he kissed her on the cheek. At that moment on contact, such brilliant warmth filled her body that it felt like nothing bad had happened at all. Her boy, her lifelong crush, had shown a sign of affection towards her, and kissed her. The warmth in her body, that was their while Harry was hugging her, was amazing. She never wanted it to leave.

Yet when he broke apart, blushing slightly, the warmth left her. She stopped crying though, and Harry helped her up to her feet. Holding her hand, he led her back to the rocky patch where Ron and Lockhart were. Ron was relieved to see her, and the four of them flew back up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She was holding on to Harry, and the same warmth filled her body again. She couldn't get enough of it.


	2. Take Care, Bye for now

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, unfortunately. :D

Harry and Ron held Ginny's hand as they walked out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They were going up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Harry's stomach grumbled nervously. What if Ginny was expelled? It wasn't her fault that Voldemort had possessed her, but with the diary gone, they couldn't prove that Ginny wasn't behind the attacks. Harry hoped, prayed, that Dumbledore would understand, understand that poor Ginny was innocent. Entering the office, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already there, their faces white with shock, and Dumbledore was sitting, rather calmly.

'Ginny! Oh my baby!' sobbed Mrs. Weasley as she ran to embrace her youngest and only daughter. Mr. Weasley hugged her too. Ginny was crying, leaking tears, on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder. Harry shuddered at the sight, poor Ginny must have been so scared.

'Ron! Harry! You saved her. Thank you!' Mrs. Weasley cried at the sight of them and ran to give both a bone-crushing hug. Mr. Weasley patted them on the back.

'Don't thank me. Harry saved her down there. I was stuck with Lockhart.' Ron said modestly.

'I couldn't have done it without you Ron' replied Harry. His best friend was being a noble git, more or less like Harry himself.

The Weasleys and Harry looked up to Dumbledore, who looked rather pleased at the sight of the reunion.

'What puzzles me most, is that how Lord Voldemort enchanted Ginny, when my sources say he has been hiding in Albania.' said Dumbledore, calmly again.

'En-enchant Ginny? How?' Mrs. Weasley shuddered as she asked.

'I've b-been writing in his diary all year!' wailed Ginny.

Mr. Weasley looked furious at her. However, Dumbledore was first to answer, 'There will be no punishment. Ginny has been through a terrible ordeal. She will go to the Hospital Wing, and have a mug of hot chocolate. I find that cheers me up in troubled times.' said Dumbledore kindly.

Relief, extremely complete relief, washed through Harry. Ginny was okay, and she wouldn't face any punishment.

'You can leave now,' he said pointedly to the Weasleys, and asked Ron to send a letter to the Ministry, to get Hagrid back. 'And Harry, I would like a word with you.' his moon-eyed spectacles facing Harry as he said it.

As the Weasleys left, Harry turned back to the face his Headmaster.

'First of all Harry, I want to thank you. Nothing but your loyalty to me would've brought Fawkes down to the Chamber. Secondly, I would like to talk about Ginny.' he said.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. 'What about her?' he asked, rather fiercely.

'I think she will require a need of a friend, Harry. You and little Miss Weasley have a lot in common, and she will surely long for your friendship Harry.' he replied in his usual calm tone.

Harry nodded. It would be nice to have Ginny as a friend, she was very nice, intelligent, funny and even very _pretty._ He made a mental note to think about his feelings for Ginny when he went to bed that night. After learning that Harry and Tom Riddle shared their powers and it wasn't a bad sin to speak Parseltongue. He also freed Dobby from the Malfoys' and later that night was ready to sleep.

What did he think of Ginny? She was pretty, yes, but he couldn't determine why he had kissed her on the cheek. After minutes, or what seemed like hours of thinking, he reached the conclusion that Ginny was like a little sister to him, and he would protect her from Voldemort, a similar thing any other Weasley sibling would.

Ginny Weasley left for the Burrow the next morning. Harry supposed that she wasn't mentally fit to continue her schooling. The days became weeks, and the only good thing in them was the fact that Hermione had been revived. Harry was relieved, he needed her to help study for the final assessments. Sooner than ever, they boarded the Hogwarts Express again, and arrived at London to greet a smiling Mrs. Weasley, accompanied by Ginny, and a grumpy and beefy Uncle Vernon, with a huge frown of dislike on his face.

'Harry!' Mrs. Weasley gave him a bone-crushing hug, which Harry supposed to be the thanks she owed him for saving her daughter. He hugged Ginny as well, planting a kiss on the top of her forehead while she blushed scarlet.

'Take care of yourself this summer. Write to me if you have any nightmares, okay? I'll try to help as much a possible.' he gave her a reassuring smile.

She blushed to the roots of her flaming hair, and with tears of gratitude, murmured, 'Thank you Harry. F-for everything. I-I would l-like t-to be y-your f-friend.'

He grinned at her, and ran off to the Dursleys, terrified at the sight of him, and sat down in their car, silently.


	3. First Teenage Year

(AN: Yo guys. Thanks for the reviews :D. They mean a lot to me. So yeah, here's Chapter 3, sorry to keep you waiting, my net was kinda playing tricks. This whole chapter's basically about Harry's 3rd year, and what goes on about his relationship with Ginny. Again, spank you for reviewing :P)

Harry Potter was lying on his bed, bored out of his mind. He sighed in exhaustion, it was late at night, almost 1, and he had been working from dawn to sunset in preparation for his 'Aunt' Marge. She wasn't really his aunt, no blood relation, as she was the sister of Uncle Vernon, but he was forced to speak to her with respect. She was coming tomorrow, much to Harry's annoyance. He hated Marge, she was a large beefy woman, just like Uncle Vernon, who treated 'Diddydums' like her own kid, and Harry like a piece of trash. He had had an awful summer, barely leaving the house once or twice and that only to the garden for a few minutes of solitude, before his aunt called him in to chop carrots. Meanwhile from the Wizarding World, he got a letter, as usual from Ron, Hermione and the Weasleys, but to his surprise, he also got one from Ginny. She had become his friend, although she was still shy in front of him, when he saved her from the Chamber of Secrets the past year.

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I hope the Dursleys are treating you well. And again Harry, I can't thank you enough for what you did for me last term. If you need anything, anything, ask me for it. I hope you enjoyed your birthday present, it was the only thing I could think of giving you. I'm sorry, but I haven't really been outside too much but into the garden. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to see you next term; I hope you can come over here._

_Take care,_

_Thank you again,_

_Ginny._

Ginny had given Harry a book, he supposed she had bought herself to read, all about his history. It was titled 'Harry Potter: A History'. Harry had already seen his pictures, full of G & H around them, circled in a heart, and he blushed. Harry read more and more about his history, but was still unable to know why Voldemort had come to kill him in the first place. Thoughts revolving around him, he drifted slowly and slowly into the warm arms of sleep.

Harry woke up early the next morning, certain that something bad was to happen today, but didn't remember. Reaching for his glasses, he groaned as he remembered that his 'Aunt Marge' was coming today, fingers crossed that something bad happened to her.

Ten minutes later, he was walking down the stairs, when he met his uncle.

'Umm U-Uncle Vernon, would you kindly sign this form for me?' asked Harry in a falsely polite voice.

'Why the ruddy hell should I do that?' snapped his Uncle. Harry's stomach was full of butterflies; he really wanted to get permission to go to Hogsmeade.

'I'll act respectfully to Aunt Marge if you sign it,' he muttered.

'I'll see. If you act hospitably towards Marge, I'll sign your ruddy form. Now get out and change!' snapped Vernon.

Harry went back to his room, hoping that his uncle would seriously keep his deal, and got changed. He lay down on his bed, re-reading Ginny's letter, asking himself why he was blushing at the thought of Ginny.

_She Ron's sister._

So what?

_Ron's your best friend._

And?

_He'd kill you if he saw you dating Ginny._

Right.

_Come on Harry, there are many other attractive girls in Hogwarts._

You have a point.

_Yeah I do, so all I want you to do is act like a bigger brother towards Ginny._

The bell's ringing interrupted Harry's thoughts. 'Damn, she's here' he thought miserably. Getting his slippers, he reluctantly dragged himself down the stairs, thinking only of the deal and Hogsmeade.

Four hours later, Harry Potter was sleeping in his room at the Leaky Cauldron. He had blown up his aunt because of her outraging comments, gotten onto the Knight Bus, and reached the Leaky Cauldron, where Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had told him that he wasn't going to be expelled, and he wasn't going to prison.

He dreamt about a man, who was part of his family, coming to take him to a proper home where he could spend the summers playing Quidditch, completing homework, being connected to the magical world, and not a place where he would sit, rotting in his bedroom where magical cars driven by his friends came to take him away.

Two months later, on September the first, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sharing a compartment with a sleeping stranger on the Hogwarts Express. They were talking about the Azkaban escapee, Sirius Black, who vowed to 'get him at Hogwarts'. They had no doubt that it was Harry the murderer was coming to get.

'Don't worry. Mum and Dad say Hogwarts is the safest place anyone can be in the magical world,' reassured Ginny soothingly.

'Yeah, course, bwee got Bumblebore!' mumbled Ron, his mouth half full of Chocolate Frogs.

'And some of the great magical witches and wizards,' added Hermione.

Harry looked out of the window; it was pitch dark, raining cats and dogs, and lightning struck constantly, all these things sending a shiver down his spine.

The train suddenly stopped. The temperature dropped, and the window outside became translucent. Harry shivered, and looked at the others, all confused and scared at the same time.

'W-what happened?' asked Ginny, her chocolate brown eyes wide in horror, and her face as pale as snow.

'Dunno,' mumbled Ron. 'Maybe the bus broke down,'

'All so sudden?' asked Harry.

They saw a hand opening their compartment, a dark scary looking hand, wrinkled, black, as if it was a zombie's.

A hooded figure entered the compartment, and Harry was terrified as he came up to Ginny and Harry, and started blowing their faces towards it.

Harry heard a scream, a scream of terror and fear, and he dissolved into darkness.

Harry woke up with Ron shaking him by his side, Hermione comforting Ginny, who was sobbing, and the stranger, who had woken up now and staring at Harry with a blank face.

'Here, have some chocolate. It helps.' whispered the man.

'W-what happened?' asked Harry, as he bit the chocolate, taking in it's warm taste, feeling better immediately.

'It was a Dementor. Dementors are magical creatures, who guard the wizard prison Azkaban. Their job is to make you relive your worst memories.' explained the man.

'W-who are you anyway?' Harry asked the stranger.

The man smiled. 'Remus John Lupin, I was one of your dad's best friends, and I'm your new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher,' he answered.

Harry wondered whether this was the man he dreamt about. Bringing himself back to reality he inquired, 'But I heard someone screaming. A woman,'

'No one screamed Harry. You and Ginny passed out, you were still out cold, she was shaking madly.' replied Hermione in a fearful voice, still holding Ginny, who was whimpering.

'What happened to you?' asked Ron.

'I-I was b-back in t-the Chamber,' she stammered, her face still white.

Harry did nothing. He wondered who had screamed, and was pretty confident his friends were lying to him. Sitting back, he looked out of the window again.

Ginny was very upset. She had been back in the Chamber, where Riddle was torturing her, ripping her soul out, when Harry came, but he released the Basilisk, and Harry was bitten and bruised, until she saw her life-long crush die in her arms. Worse than that, Harry hadn't even comforted her when she told him of her account, not even tried to reassure her that she was okay, as if she didn't exist in his world. Looking miserable, she looked down to the floor, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Harry saw her expression, and felt guilt build around him. He changed seats with Hermione, and put an arm around Ginny as he softly spoke, 'Its okay Ginny. He's gone. Your not in the Chamber, you're fine,'

Ginny's sad look changed slightly as she blushed when Harry half-hugged her, and felt warmth heating up the cold reserves the Dementor had left in her body.

Harry was ready to play his first Quidditch match of the season. It was Gryffindor was Ravenclaw, and Harry was playing Seeker against a very, pretty girl called Cho Chang, and he was sure he fancied her. Now he was playing with her, trying not to knock her off her broom, acting like a gentleman, at which Cho laughed at. She seemed to like him too, and Harry's heart gave a leap when she shook his hand after the match. She was so pretty, and Harry imagined him and Cho holding hands, walking in the Great Hall, walking up to the Lake on romantic dates, and snogging in broom closets.

Harry lay on his hospital bed, feeling sick. He had been 'attacked' by Dementors again when he rose a hundred feet above the ground, and he fell that distance, and surely would have died had Dumbledore not slowed down his falling momentum.

Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and the rest of the Gryffindor team had visited him. Cho had kissed him on the forehead, and Harry blushed crimson, and his heart was jumping in joy. The next visitor he saw was a girl with flaming red hair, a blazing look, chocolate brown eyes, and a small cute nose. Ginny Weasley.

Ginny slowly entered the Hospital Wing, her insides burning with fury because she had seen Cho Chang kiss Harry on the forehead, and Harry smiled. He liked that kiss, he liked her. The get well card she made looked pretty useless to her, and she was sure that Harry would take a kiss from Cho anyday than a card from plainly simple Ginny Weasley. Still, she walked up to his bed, and he smiled at her.

'Hello.' he said sweetly.

'Hi. I wanted to g-give you this,' she muttered, her eyes looking at anything but the other pair of emerald green ones as she handed him the get well card.

'It's pretty pathetic, I'm sorry,' she admitted, fear growing in her body that Harry would look at it, then spit on it, tear it, and throw it on her face.

He opened the card, where a soft, beautiful voice sang out to him, touching his heart, unknown to Ginny.

'I love it. I can't thank you enough. Really Ginny, it's beautiful,' he reassured her truthfully, and Ginny blushed so red that Harry thought her face had become bloody.

'I'm glad. Get well soon Harry,' she mumbled before running out of the room, redder than blood.

Harry woke up a long time in the Hospital Wing, 8 months later, not because of his Grim Defeat in Quidditch, but because he had been attacked by the Whomping Willow while trying to save Ron. He learnt that Sirius Black was his godfather, the man who was the family in his dream, and he could finally go to a proper home. However, Dumbledore firmly instructed him to go to the Dursleys for atleast a month, which Harry reluctantly had to agree to. Back at King's Cross, he met Mrs. Weasley, who hugged him tightly, and her husband, who patted him on the back.

'You WILL come over in the summer, Harry. Come on man, we can't miss the World Cup,' said Ron boldly as he hugged his best friend and bid him farewell for the summer.

'Bye Harry!' his best female friend ran into his arms.

Ginny approached him shyly, probably expecting a handshake, but Harry embraced her as well, which made Ginny go scarlet as he shouted, 'Bye guys! I'll miss you!'

'The Dursleys were late,' he noted. He saw Cho waving at him and he waved back, blushing furiously, before her appearance became opaque to a large beefy man Harry recognized as Uncle Vernon. Behind him, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were looking grimly at him, before he sat in the car again, going back towards hell.


End file.
